A wide variety of loader attachments for vehicles such skid steer loaders, tractors or the like are available and in use. Generally, most attachments include a hitch portion and a workpiece portion. The hitch portion of the attachments is used for mounting the attachments to the loader vehicles. The workpiece portion of the attachments are constructed for a variety of uses and may include augurs, backhoes, brooms, buckets, trenchers, cutters, chippers, concrete mixers, crushers, diggers, dozer blades, graders, rakes, pallet forks, snow blowers, tillers, scrapers, clam shells, plows, bale spears, etc. Vehicles such as skid steerers, tractors, or the like typically include a structure at the front end or the back end of the loader for fixedly engaging the loader attachments so that the attachments can be operated and moved, generally by hydraulic power, by the vehicle. Such “hitch” configurations are different from the typical trailer hitch structures used to simply tow or push trailer-type assemblies. Most loader vehicle companies have designed their vehicles to include a universal type structure for engaging a plurality of attachments. One common structure found in the art is what is called a toe-heel attachment carrier that is used to engage the hitch portion of the attachments. Most vehicle companies have also designed their loader attachments with a universal type of a hitch so that they can be used with the toe-heel attachment carriers of vehicles of different manufacturers. In this manner, loader vehicles can use a variety of attachments manufactured by different companies for a variety of purposes, given that the attachment carriers and the hitch structures found on the attachments contain universal counterparts.
Whether it be universal or not, despite the versatile use of front end loader vehicles and the multitude of attachments designed for them, there is no hitch structure in the art that allows reversible coupling of loader attachments to such vehicles. It is conceivable that certain workpieces may be designed to be reversible implements where two sides of the workpiece, e.g., the top and the bottom sides, can be utilized for different purposes. For example, it is conceivable that a plow blade may have a top edge containing rubber material and a bottom edge containing metal material. The rubber edge may serve a different function than the bottom metal edge and reversibility of such a blade allows both edges to be utilized. Reversibility of, for example, a plow blade may also be useful for wear reasons.
However, the art lacks a hitch structure that would allow the reversible use of such an implement. More importantly, the art lacks a reversible hitch structure that can be used with the universal attachment carriers found on most conventional loader vehicles. Thus, only one-sided implements are commonly found in the art.
What is needed in the art is a hitch structure that allows multiple sides of an attachment workpiece to be utilized. More importantly, what is needed in the art is a reversible hitch structure that can be made universal so that it can be used with existing vehicle attachment carriers.